Winning the Mind Battle—Two2Grow, Friday, July 24
Winning the Mind Battle—Two2Grow, Friday, July 24
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2 NIV
We are in a battle for our minds. The Reformer Martin Luther is often credited with saying:
“You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest in your hair.”
The illustration is meant to help us better fight the battle of our thought life. It reminds us that we cannot prevent dark and evil thoughts from coming our way because we live in a fallen world.
We are bombarded by images that stir up unhealthy desires and thoughts whenever we are online, on social media, watching TV, and so on. The devil can also plant lies in our minds—thoughts that have the power to destroy us. Thoughts that tell us we are ugly, dumb, good for nothing, or losers. Or thoughts fueled by anger that seek revenge, desire to harm someone, or simply want to get back at a group or society that has hurt and rejected us.
The point of Luther's quote is what we do once those thoughts try to settle in our minds.
Do we nurture dark thoughts? Do we entertain evil fantasies, thinking they are harmless because no one is getting hurt and they remain only within the confines of our minds?
We are not victims of the thoughts that come our way. We have a choice. We need to resist all dark thoughts.
As today's verse says, we are to actively "set our minds" on the things of God.
Three practices, in particular, are helpful in doing this:
Jesus, I want every part of my life to please You, including my thought life. Help me today to set my mind on the things of Your kingdom. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
We are in a battle for our minds. The Reformer Martin Luther is often credited with saying:
“You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest in your hair.”
The illustration is meant to help us better fight the battle of our thought life. It reminds us that we cannot prevent dark and evil thoughts from coming our way because we live in a fallen world.
We are bombarded by images that stir up unhealthy desires and thoughts whenever we are online, on social media, watching TV, and so on. The devil can also plant lies in our minds—thoughts that have the power to destroy us. Thoughts that tell us we are ugly, dumb, good for nothing, or losers. Or thoughts fueled by anger that seek revenge, desire to harm someone, or simply want to get back at a group or society that has hurt and rejected us.
The point of Luther's quote is what we do once those thoughts try to settle in our minds.
Do we nurture dark thoughts? Do we entertain evil fantasies, thinking they are harmless because no one is getting hurt and they remain only within the confines of our minds?
We are not victims of the thoughts that come our way. We have a choice. We need to resist all dark thoughts.
As today's verse says, we are to actively "set our minds" on the things of God.
Three practices, in particular, are helpful in doing this:
- Pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to resist dark thoughts.
- Crowd out dark thoughts with the things of God by listening to sermons, worship music, meditating on Scripture, and filling your mind with His truth.
- Speak the Word of God aloud. This is a powerful way to overcome dark thoughts.
Jesus, I want every part of my life to please You, including my thought life. Help me today to set my mind on the things of Your kingdom. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD